


On the Path

by Settiai



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Holly Poly, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Multi, One Shot, Threesome, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-13 08:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5702227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard liked to claim that it was Mordin’s fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Path

**Author's Note:**

  * For [queenofzan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofzan/gifts).



Shepard liked to claim that it was Mordin's fault.

There was a chance it might have happened anyway, a good chance even, but she knew without a doubt that it would have taken much longer at the very least. The fact that it happened when it did, as it did, could be blamed entirely on Mordin.

She suspected that he probably would have been proud if he'd known. Or amused. Possibly a combination of the two, knowing him.

(Sometimes she wished that he could have had the chance to have known.)

*

"Mordin, we need to talk to you."

Mordin glanced up from his console as Shepard stepped through the door, followed closely behind by Garrus and Tali. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes widening fractionally, something that Shepard had just recently figured out was the salarian equivalent of raising their eyebrows. 

"Adding quarian to sexual relationship will complicate matters," he said. "Still, I can provide diagrams, educational videos. Salves, if needed. Antibiotics."

It took a moment for Mordin's words to sink in. By the time Shepard realized what he was saying, Garrus was already making a high-pitched whine of embarrassment while Tali looked like she was about five seconds away from sprinting out of the room.

"Mordin!"

"Oh." Mordin tilted his head, looking much too amused for Shepard's taste. "You're here for another reason?"

Shepard resisted the urge to rub the bridge of her nose in frustration. Barely. "Yes," she ground out, glaring at him. "We're here about the samples? The ones you said were ready for testing?"

"My apologies," Mordin said, not sounding even remotely apologetic. "Yes, yes, the samples. This way."

Garrus coughed uncomfortably. Tali made a quiet noise that sounded suspiciously like a groan.

Shepard shifted and pointedly ignored the hint of arousal she could feel pooling in her belly at the mental image Mordin's words had brought on.

*

Shepard sighed.

She didn't mean to do it, not really. It just slipped out, a quiet sound that was a tiny bit too melancholy considering where she was.

"Is something wrong?" Garrus asked, his voice slightly farther away than she'd expected.

Shepard rolled over, glancing at him. He had moved over to the couch at some point, and it said a lot about her state of mind that she hadn't even noticed. He was wearing his visor again, because of course he was, but she couldn't help but smirk just slightly when she noticed that was the only thing he was wearing.

As if he could read her mind, Garrus shot her a pointed look. Shepard glanced down at her bare chest, the sheets from the bed draped loosely over her upper thighs. Then she looked back at him and shrugged. It's not like breasts did anything for him, considering turian women didn't even have them.

"Really, Shepard, is something wrong?" Garrus repeated, studying her face a little more closely than she was used to.

Shepard shook her head, pointedly ignoring the quick image of Tali's hips swaying as she walked away that flashed in her mind at his question. "No," she said. "Nothing's wrong. Come back to bed?"

Something flashed across Garrus's face that looked suspiciously like the turian equivalent of a grimace. Shepard quickly squashed down the voice in her head that wanted to immediately assume something was wrong with her. She knew damn well human beds weren't built with turians in mind. It was his back and neck that he was worried about, not other parts of his anatomy that she knew very well wouldn't have any issue with coming back to bed with her.

Shepard grinned. "Never mind," she said quickly. "How about I join you then?"

*

"Shepard, I love you," Garrus said matter-of-factly, "but you're a horrible liar."

Shepard raised an eyebrow as she leaned back against his chest, ignoring the slight burn she could feel from her bare skin rubbing against his. She turned her head a little so that she could meet his gaze. "When did I lie?"

Garrus's face was much too serious considering the fact that they were both naked, all but sprawled on top of each other on the couch. Shepard glanced over at the nearby table, making a mental note to clean it well before she used it again.

"Shepard."

She pressed a kiss against the side of his face. "Garrus."

"You're trying to change the subject."

Shepard moved her mouth lower, pressing a kiss against the center of his chest. "Would I do that?"

Garrus sighed. "Yes."

She shifted, getting ready to duck her head so that she could press a kiss against somewhere a little lower on his body. Before she could, though, Garrus reached out and rested his hand on the side of her face. "Shepard."

Shepard stilled instantly.

"Something's on your mind," Garrus said. "Will you tell me what it is?"

She bit her lip, not quite certain whether she should answer. Or, if she did, whether to tell the whole truth. She _was_ worried about the upcoming mission to the Bahak System, after all. And she _was_ worried that Liara was going to get in over her head as the new Shadow Broker. And she _was_ worried about the safety of the crew members who had left the _Normandy_ after she had broken away from Cerberus.

 _You're a horrible liar_ , he had said. He'd know. She knew that he'd know.

"I was thinking about what Mordin said earlier. About Tali."

Beside her, Garrus froze in place. "Oh," he said, after a long pause.

Shepard wasn't entirely certain how to read his tone of voice. Translators only did so much when it came to turian vocals. Another part of his anatomy seemed more than a little interested in the idea, though.

*

It was mostly boredom that caused Shepard to request biological information on quarians. House arrest was probably more than she deserved (or less, depending on who you asked), but there were only so many ways for her to fill the hours of the day. And poor James would probably keel over if she actually tried to spend the entire day training and exercising.

So, yes, boredom was to blame. Boredom, and Mordin, because it had been months and she still couldn't get the damn thought out of her mind now that he'd put it there.

It was... informative. Dry as hell, and it left her with more questions than answers, but it was a start.

Luckily, the Alliance had left her with access to a full library of entertainment choices. No outside communications and no news that wasn't at least a week old, but plenty of entertainment. Her first tentative searches led her to _Fleet and Flotilla_ , which she managed to watch for about twenty minutes before giving up entirely.

The porno based on it was much more useful. In more ways than one.

*

"I've been thinking about what you said."

Shepard opened her eyes, a little surprised to see Garrus still in bed with her. It was rare that he would stay there for long. Usually he was long gone within ten minutes of their last orgasms, moving to one of the chairs or the couch since they were easier on turian physiology.

"You're going to have to be more specific," Shepard said, reaching up to trace the scars on the side of his face. "I say a lot of things."

Garrus hesitated, just slightly. "Just before Bahak," he said, and Shepard stilled. "When we were talking about Tali."

"I see," Shepard said carefully. "And, uh, what have you been thinking about?"

Garrus didn't quite meet her gaze. "Mostly whether or not she brings her shotgun to bed with her."

Shepard stared at him for a moment, gaping. Then she threw her head back and laughed, well aware that his eyes were twinkling with satisfaction that he'd made her laugh. There hadn't been nearly enough to laugh about lately, what with the entirely galaxy going to hell.

It took a few minutes for her to stop laughing long enough to actually reply. "You and guns," Shepard said, shaking her head. "I'm starting to think I should start carrying my Carnifex to bed with us just to keep your attention."

If she hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn't have heard the slight hitch in Garrus's breathing at that. She raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked curiously. "I draw the line at using a loaded weapon as a sex toy, but I could probably requisition—"

Garrus didn't kiss her very often, since turian mouths weren't really made for it. When he did, though, he more than made it worth it.

"We're not done with this conversation," Shepard murmured against his mouth.

*

Shepard knew that she probably held Tali just a little too long for it to be a purely friendly "welcome back to the _Normandy_ " hug. She wasn't the only one who didn't seem to want to pull away, though, so it wasn't entirely her fault.

"I should get back to the other admirals," Tali said, more than a small amount of reluctance in her voice as she finally pulled away. "They will start asking uncomfortable questions if I am away for too long."

"That makes sense," Shepard agreed. "Still, it's good to have you back on board, Tali. For however long you're here."

Tali tilted her head, and Shepard had the strangest feeling that she was missing something. Before she could say anything, though, Tali turned and started toward the doorway.

She paused as she stepped out in the corridor, turning back toward Shepard for one moment. "Shepard?"

"Yeah, Tali?" Shepard asked.

It was hard to tell, what with her face being hidden, but Shepard had the oddest feeling that Tali was trying not to laugh. "Will you tell Garrus that I received his messages?"

Shepard blinked. "His messages?" she repeated slowly.

Tali nodded. "Yes," she said. "They were quite... educational."

Shepard opened her mouth. Then she closed it.

She knew that she wasn't imagining the extra bit of sway in Tali's hips as she turned and walked away, the door closing behind her a moment or two later.

*

Mordin had been right. It did complicate matters. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though.

The first time Shepard saw Tali's face, they were standing on a cliff on Rannoch as Tali became the first quarian to breathe in the air of their homeworld in over three hundred years. Tali leaned in and pressed a kiss against her cheek before putting her mask back on, gentle and chaste yet it burned like a flame against Shepard's skin. A promise of what could be.

Tali had a fever for the next five days.

"Do you regret it?" Shepard asked, not quite certain she wanted to hear the answer.

There was a long pause before Tali replied. "Yes," she said slowly. "If I'd known I would feel this bad as a result, I would have kissed you for much longer." She paused. "Also somewhere much more interesting."

Behind her, Garrus laughed. "There's always next time," he said, resting his hand on Tali's shoulder and squeezing gently.

Tali laughed. "True," she agreed. Then she reached up and brushed her suited hand over the sensitive skin at the base of his fringe that had taken Shepard _months_ to find.

Garrus shivered.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Where did you learn that?" she asked.

" _Fleet and Flotilla_ ," Tali said, and there was laughter in her voice.

*

Their first time wasn't perfect by any means, not that Shepard had expected it to be. She mostly looked back on the unmitigated disaster that had been hers and Garrus's first time with fondness, but at the time it had been less than amusing. Still, it had been a good preparation.

It had been her and Tali who had the most issues. She was well aware of what worked and didn't work between a human and a turian by that point, and Tali had apparently watched _Fleet and Flotilla_ enough times to have a more than passing familiarity with how quarian-turian interactions would go.

In some ways, it was surprising just how similar human and quarian bodies looked, once clothing and suits had been shed. Which made it all the more difficult to remember that almost _nothing_ worked the same way, on both their parts.

Shepard had learned a long time ago, though, that anything that ended in laughter wasn't all bad. And there was definitely laugher, on all of their parts.

It was a new beginning for all of them. Shepard just hoped the ending was a happy one.

(It was.)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on Tumblr. (http://settiai.tumblr.com/)


End file.
